President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that removal of a democratic government by force is no longer acceptable.
According to him, violence can never solve any problems; rather, it complicates them and sets back the progress of democratic societies.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a statement on Sunday, quoted Buhari as saying this in his reactions to the recent abortive coup plot in Turkey.
Buhari, according to the statement, joined American President Barrack Obama and other world leaders in vehemently condemning the failed coup attempt by a group of Turkish rebel army officers and men, which reportedly resulted in the death of over 100 people in Ankara, Istanbul and other centres.
President Buhari said: “Democracy provides peaceful options of changing governments through the ballot box. The ballot box doesn’t require violence to remove any government perceived to have lost its popularity and public support. Despite its limitations, democracy is still better and more durable than a violent change of government.”
President Buhari said he was “deeply saddened by reports of a violent attempt to dismantle constitutional authority and disrupt the democratically elected government of Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey.”
Noting that Erdogan is one of Nigeria’s close international partners and sincere supporters in her current war against terrorism, the president urged all to resist the “destabilisation of democratic countries through coups d’état in the 21st century.”
Buhari praised the courage and immediate response of ordinary Turkish citizens, who in face of guns and tanks, defied the rebel soldiers and forced them to abandon their “mad quest for power.”
President Buhari, who urged Erdogan to pursue reconciliation, offered Nigeria’s support to the government and people of Turkey in their hour of trial.
